Lakers permitted to talk to Grizzlies center Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard averaged 17.1 points and a league-best 12.4 rebounds per game during his 2012-2013 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has played for five different NBA franchises since leaving the Orlando Magic in 2012. File Photo by Lori Shepler/UPI | License Photo

Howard, 33, played for the Lakers during his 2012-2013 campaign. The eight-time All-Star averaged 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in nine appearances last season for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards traded Howard to the Grizzlies in July in exchange for C.J. Miles.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft played his first eight seasons for the Orlando Magic before being traded to the Lakers in 2012. He signed with the Rockets in free agency the following off-season before agreeing to a multi-year onctract with the Atlanta Hawks in 2016. The Hawks traded Howard to the Charlotte Hornets in 2017. The Hornets traded Howard to the Brooklyn Nets in July 2018. He was waived a day later, before signing with the Wizards in free agency.

Howard has averaged 17.4 points, 12.6 rebounds, two blocks and 1.5 assists per game during his NBA career. He is also a five-time rebounding champion, two-time blocking champion and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Howard has finished in the top five for MVP voting four times during his decorated career.

He is the NBA's active rebounding leader with 13,184 career boards. The Lakers signed Cousins in July in free agency. He sustained a torn ACL last week while training in Las Vegas. Cousins could miss the entire 2019 season.